Before my favourite books of the year so far video, coming on Sunday… and we move on to the second half of the year properly, I thought I would have a mid year bookish catch up. So I have a chat about books, reading and my channel, some reflections, some highlights, some excitement and some plans. Oh and a few questions for you all… and some tangents of course. #Booktube #CatchUp #BookChat
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Channels Mentioned…
@louisesavidgemuses4135
@katsfieldnotes
Books Mentioned…
The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis
New Life by Tom Crewe
The Strays by Emily Bitto
Jollof Rice and other Revolutions by Omolola Ijeoma Ogunyemi
Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey
Me Elsewhere…
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Wishlist: https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/AO5I95QBVPB?ref_=wl_share
The Sky Arts Book Club FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/theskyartsbookclub/
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40 Comments
Reading by whim has totally been me this year. I keep making TBR piles, and ignoring them for the most part in favour of whatever tickles my fancy in the moment! So unlike me, but it's making me happy so I'm going to keep rolling with it!
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🐙🐙 A whimsical rest of the year for reading and for the channel sounds quite delightful. The videos you made at Hay were highlights for me, along with the prompts and the WP content. A reading highlight was definitely Demon Copperhead winning the Women’s Prize and your growing love for Trespasses. Hoping for a view of the finished renovated guest room (I definitely think you planned it for shelves for your Persephone books, which is brilliant). Hoping the Booker longlist is a PHWOAH!
Burt! I should be commenting on books and your channel plans and your mum, and instead I veer into fashion. 🐙
the bigger the better 😉 big books let's gooo!!!
I'm having trouble keeping focused on the books with your BURT shirt. What a sexy beast! Ok, back to the books…😅
I cannot listen to audiobooks My mind wanders I think about everything else. I like to see the written word and imbibe the writer’s craft. I like your honesty so much like with The Shards.
Thanks for mentioning The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey (King Richard III). My DNA tells me we share mitochondria DNA. I know there are many books written about him, but I think this will be an interesting one to begin with.
🐙 Octavia is a lovely name…js. 🐙
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A lovely catch up 😃 I really appreciate hearing your experience of being more present and enjoying the moment your in. I definitely would like to be doing that more. I became completely immersed in Pachinko. Cute octopus 🐙 Happy Reading.
Have you read Ex Wife one of the McNally Editions. It was perfect. Oh what a fab idea to have a Persephone room . Can’t wait to see it. Thanks Simon for everything 🐙
My reading style hard to explain. I know exactly what books I want to read and my collection is kept fairly short. I love a good long wander around book stores but seldom buy just for the sake if it. I look at reading more as a study of certain subjects then the pleasure side of it. If that makes sense. Non fiction, history, stoicism, philisophy, and my favourite true crime (the who, why,when,where of it all] lol. Anyone else like me here? Thanks again Simon for sharing your love of books with us. And yes, Octavia is a great name for your little yellow friend! Love from Thailand 🐙
I'm looking forward to seeing your outside reading nook and your Persephone inspired room. I fell into the trap of setting myself a number of books goal but next yr it will be a page number target so 2024 will be the year of the chunkster. Love the octopus 🐙. Oh, I always appreciate the few seconds of 'bin content' in your home vlogs!! 😂
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I’ve nearly finished the chunkster Great Circle (which is my Savidge prompt for July) I’m enjoying it but it’s not quite what I expected 🤔 I always enjoy your bookish catch ups. I’m gutted I’ve watched all the Hay Festival interviews, you were brilliant Simon and deserve your own show 🐙
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Loved Pachinko and have an author autographed copy of it as well. I also have an author autographed copy of her book Free Food For Millionaires that I also liked. Enjoy!
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I want to try out some grafic novels!
You say it sounds weird to say that you're proud of yourself… I understand where you're coming from because I feel like it's very British to be humble and not want to feel as if you're bragging. However, I do hope you are at least privately proud of yourself because you have achieved so much and your success is very well-deserved. Love this video and all of your bookish joy! 🐙
Another banger from you, Simon 🕺 Always lovely to catch up!
– And highlights, well, to me it’s always a joy to add to the collection and rearrange the shelves (I just enjoy how excited I get 😅). And then it would have to be how much I enjoyed Girl, Woman, Other + going to an event with Hanya Yanagihara.
I hope you have a whimsical rest of the year indeed 🤩😍
🐙great video, any videos are welcome, I’m not fussy 😁
One of my bookish highlights so far was the book I picked for your June prompt – I have no idea what I was wearing when I watched the prompt video so I decided to use your mum’s top as inspiration. I read Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli and it’s definitely going to be one of my favorite books of the year 🐙
I also have that awful habit of putting things in safe places and then forgetting where they are 😊, so frustrating 😅🐙🐙Thanks Simon xx
Loved this bookish 'waffle' 😂
Pachinko is brilliant; I really hope you enjoy it!
My current mental feels are reflected by the tidyness of my desk, a bit like you with your library. Right now there are no used mugs and plenty of desk is visible beneath my random shizz. There are however about 50 Evri returns receipts I seem to have collected🤣 So overall pretty good?!
Oh my gosh, your fox friend had cubs?? You must be thrilled! 🐙
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Spontaneity does get somewhat stifled by Booktube Simon, imho! I have had Pachinko for review since it came out so I’m going to try this in July. I also visited Persephone Books for the first time this week and loved its old school charm. I need to reorganise but am awaiting a roof repair before doing this. How to keep all my precious babies safe 💖
🐙🐙 Whatever en whenever you post, it'll always be my bookish highlight
Feel like I'm in a bit of a slump at the moment but your videos always cheer me up! Is it wrong to expect every book to be a 5* read?! I feel a bit scared of chunky books as I have read so many books lately that have been a bit 'meh' and don't want to invest the time, as I'm more of a 'book a week' kind of gal! Any tips would be very much appreciated! Like you, I like to listen to non-fiction – mainly whilst walking. I listened to Deborah Levy's living autobiography books earlier in the year and nothing since then has compared! Any suggestions would be very much appreciated, although I'm thinking of picking up a copy of Cereus Blooms at Night because I have always enjoyed the books that you love! Looking forward to seeing your Persephone-inspired room! 🐙
🐙currently just reading The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese…such a chunkster but racing through it…love his writing….and this does not disappoint. Interesting I also DNFd The Shards very early on…just because everyone else loves it, does not mean I need to!
Pachinko’s been on my shelf for a long time , it’s a big book 📖 😮 I picked the school for good mothers and also reading the girls of summer by Katie Bishop 📚 🐙🐙🐙
How can one choose a Savidge highlight??!! I just love listening to you. 🐙
A lovely chat, thank you. I am liking the vase placement – ahem. I've just finished reading Summerwater which was one of the books you mentioned recently. I wasn't sure at first but when I was still reading at three in the morning I realised I was hooked. The ending sort of came from nowhere, I thought, but it worked. It's hard to say what I would like to see on the channel because I actually enjoy everything I watch with you. I loved the stuff from Hay. I've now started the new one from Lisa Jewell – None of This is True and I absolutely adore her writing. I'll be honest I'm jealous.🐙
My book highlights this year were: We Don't Roads: Making of the Back to the Future trilogy by Caseen Gaines, Legends and Lattes, finishing The Physician by Noah Gordon, The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson, Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons, and Anna Karenina by Tolstoy. Anytime I finished books that are that long I'm happy. Around the World in 80 Days was fun, especially since it was better than Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas. I'm also happy about finishing The Black Powder trilogy. It was also great to be able to say I read The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwall, and I have lot of the books in the series.
Fab vid – looking forward to your faves 🐙
I can't wait to see what's on the Booker longlist (hoping for a phwoarr list as well) as well as looking forward to the Kate Mosse and the new Zadie Smith. I also feel like I haven't read many books in translation this year so after the Booker I think I'll focus on that for a bit. (Plus I vowed some time ago to never read another Bret Easton Ellis book).
🐙-love cephalopods — yellow is my fave color so your stuffed octopus is super cool. Name: Jasper if a boy or Sephie if a girl.
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I loved pineapple street and pachinko is great ! Loved your Hay interviews, the womens prize and generally your chats 👏👏👏😘